TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has called for a state of emergency due to forecasted snow and ice in North Florida and parts of Central Florida this week. 

DeSantis posted on X, saying the Florida Department of Transportation is on standby with snow plows and other safety equipment if necessary. 

DeSantis also said in a news conference Tuesday that Florida highways in parts of North Florida were sprayed in advance to try to keep ice from building up on them and that crews would work to try to spray them as needed.

The dangerous weather conditions led the Florida Legislature, Florida State University and Florida A&M to shut down most operations on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Sen. President Ben Albritton and House Speaker Daniel Perez have canceled committee meetings for Tuesday and Wednesday and said offices will be closed Wednesday. Legislators should be in Tallahassee for the start of a special session on Monday, Jan. 27, they said.

FSU's Tallahassee and Panama City campuses, along with Florida A&M's Tallahassee campus are also closed Tuesday and Wednesday. However, FSU's K-12 charter school remains open Tuesday before closing on Wednesday.

"I am concerned Senators, staff and visitors being out on the roads traveling to and around the Tallahassee area in these conditions," Senate President Ben Albritton said in a memo to senators dated Monday. Out of an abundance of caution, Senate offices in Tallahassee will be closed on Wednesday, Jan. 22.

"As I mentioned Friday, while I am always hesitant to cancel noticed committee meetings, the reality is that our transportation infrastructure is not built to acccommodate accumulated snow and ice. Safety of Senators, staff and visitors is my top concern."

Tallahassee International Airport posted on X earlier Tuesday afternoon that it would suspend operations at 4 p.m. and that all commercial airlines had canceled flights after 3 p.m. because of the weather conditions. It plans to resume operations at noon Wednesday but urged travelers to check the status of their flights with their carriers.

In other Florida cities, the Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport posted on its website that it had closed at noon Central Time (1 p.m. EST)- and planned to reopen at noon CST Wednesday, and the Pensacola Airport website shows all flights to and from the airport as canceled.

Meanwhile, the University of Florida posted on X: "Out of an abundance of caution, the UF campus will close and classes and all activities will be canceled from midnight until 12:30 p.m. Wednesday."